A person who holds extreme views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action is known as an EXTREMIST.

I wear that title with honor…and I hope to convict you with the idea that in order for you to get more accomplished in the first 100 days of 2017 than most people do over the course of ten years…that you too will choose to become an extremist as well.

My objective in creating the 100 Day Challenge was to provide you with a system and a mentality for becoming a super productive human being, someone who plays a much bigger game, someone who breaths the rarefied air of greatness and someone who operates at the very peak of their potential.

Let’s jump right into it by focusing on the non-negotiable rules for becoming an extremist, of which there are two:

1. You cannot have extreme productivity without taking extreme measures.

2. Extreme productivity can only begin with a zero tolerance for unproductive activity.

Self-awareness followed by immediate self-correction is the key to extreme productivity.

Every time you find yourself acting in a way that is grossly incongruent with your stated goals, you must take immediate action to rectify your behavior.

The time to determine whether or not your behavior is congruent with your stated ambitions is not at the end of the week, not at the end of the month, not at the end of the calendar quarter, and certainly not at the end of the year—it’s real time, minute by minute…hour by hour.

What you can’t measure you won’t be able to manage or improve…and when you don’t inspect performance, you can’t possibly expect extreme results.

The only way to enjoy extreme results is by having a hyper-awareness of your productivity and of your congruent behavior.

The truth is easy to understand intellectually, but execution is the only thing that provides understanding of this truth…if you want an extreme results, you’ve got to go to the extreme… and driving extreme results is what the 100 Day Challenge is all about.

You’ve got to be very aware of what you are permitting to happen around you, with you, and with what’s getting in your way, and you must be willing to kill it BEFORE it kills your performance and subsequent results.

If you aren’t willing to defend your productivity aggressively, if and when necessary, what exactly are you willing to defend?

Remember, you get out of life what you are willing to tolerate, and that is why you must have a zero tolerance policy for unproductive behavior.

There is a direct correlation between high income, high performance and high standards and low tolerance for anything that is messing up your productivity; something you are doing to yourself or something that you are tolerating other people doing to you.

If you want extreme results in 2017, you have no choice but to make very specific decisions over how you are going to control these things.

That includes what you do, where you do it, if you do it, who you do it with, and how you do it. Most importantly here is “the who.”

I want to make it very clear that the very first thing on your to do list for the New Year is to facilitate maximum productivity at your best mental attitude so that you can be highly productive.

That’s who you want around you… and be mindful that this applies to everyone and everything as when it comes to driving extreme results there is no neutral, and certainly no negatives when it comes to spouse, staff, friends…they’re either helping you to achieve your full potential or they’re hurting your ability to do so.

When you talk about getting to work and making big things happen in the first 100 days of 2017, there’s ONE specific type of action that triggers extreme results.

Even if you are unsure as to which action to take, it’s far better to get started in the wrong direction than it is not to get started.

Why? Because you can fix the direction, you can’t fix the not starting.

The best odds of you driving extreme results in 2017, begins by taking extreme action towards your goals—immediately.

If the objective is to crush the first 100 days and make 2017 the best year of your life, than you owe it to yourself to find the fastest way to get it done.

If you can’t, won’t or simply refuse to accept or dismiss out of hand what I’m about to share with you…you’re making a huge mistake, one that will cost you your chance at maximizing the first 100 days of the year.

THINK ABOUT IT…

If the goal is to become debt free…why perpetuate the pain and do it slowly?

If the goal is to lose weight and get in great shape…why on earth should it be a long draw out process?

If the goal is to get better grades…why should it take any longer than the next exam to turn things around?

If the goal is to become the sales leader…why should it take until next quarter or next year when you can wear the crown next month?

The fact is…any goal or plan expands so as to fill and reinforce the unrealistic amount of time you have made available for its completion.

I’ve got an important question for you to consider as it relates to the quality of your life, relationships, reputation and legacy.

Ready? Let’s go.

If you’re not committed to living a life of EXCELLENCE, then what on earth are you committed to?

Mediocrity. Doing as little as possible?

No reply needed. Behavior never lies. Intentions are meaningless. All we have to do is look at your results.

Your commitment to whatever quality standard you deem important to follow, reinforce and display is one that requires rigorous examination.

CHOOSING EXCELLENCE

My goal in creating the 100 Day Challenge is to provide you with proven, actionable strategies for living a rich and robust quality life…one steeped in the principles of excellence.

Why should you choose excellence? Because excellence extols, advocates, and champions every best practice and noble virtue known to mankind.

While the system or environment you find yourself in might push you to become mediocre, to settle for a lower standard…the best option is to always choose excellence.

Excellence begins as a decision—one where you look at your life, business, and relationships and decide that everything you touch is going to be better, that the example you set is going to be inspiring, that the performance bar is going to be raised higher, and that the legacy you leave will be memorable and significant.

Excellence is not a situational value…and to live a rich and robust quality of life, excellence must become the standard by which you manage and measure everything you do.

]]>Gary Ryan Blairhttp://www.everythingcounts.com/?p=69582016-12-01T19:45:50Z2016-12-01T13:24:17ZIn business and in life we often hear people ask…who is your perfect or ideal customer?

Or even what are the attributes of the perfect or ideal spouse or mate?

This is an important exercise as the answers help you to examine existing client or personal relationships and expose what I like to call the perfection gap.

Once the perfection gap is brought out into the sunlight…you are now in a position to think clearly about what stays, what goes and what needs your time and attention.

Let’s now piggyback this idea and focus the conversation on you…your goals, your reputation and your results.

If the goal is peak performance, maximum achievement, self-mastery, or even to become the greatest of all time (GOAT)…one strategy is all you need to get the job done.

The Perfect Competitor Strategy.

The perfect competitor strategy is based on the theory that world-class performances will only be achieved by rising to the mental demands and physical rigors that are brought about by world-class competition.

In other words, to be the best…you must compete against and beat the best.

So…who or what is the perfect competitor?

What are the attributes of the perfect competitor…the ones that drive you to dig deep in order to climb high?

The perfect competitor operates from a position of high integrity.

They do the right things, the right way and never succumb to lying, cheating or unsportsmanlike conduct.

As a result…they have turned trust, loyalty and integrity into a massive competitive advantage.

If you have any intention of competing against them…your standards must be high and your behavior must be impeccable.

The perfect competitor has a demonstrated track record of superior results which in turn provides them with superior levels of credibility.

Those elevated levels of credibility work to intimidate weaker completion who wind up choking, flinching and second guessing themselves …which in turn leads to unforced errors in execution.

The perfect competitor is a well-prepared, highly competent and supremely confident professional who always plays to win.

When will your finest hour come, and how will it arrive? Do you really think it will materialize without a competitive challenge, without your perseverance being tested, without you being pushed to your limits, tormented, and put through your own personal hell?

In short, for you to unleash your greatness…you must seek out and rise to the great competitive challenges that are thrust upon you.

While beating inferior competition may give you a temporary feeling of superiority, it’s a losing strategy…as you handicap your growth and relegate yourself to a life of mediocrity.

Once again, to be the best…you must compete against and beat the best.

There is no purer form of success, no more exact and demanding test of what you are capable of, than to compete at the highest level and emerge victorious.

The perfect competitor takes great pride in what they do…they will not go down easily…so expect a fight…and bring everything you’ve got and then some.

The perfect competitor is mentally tough as over the years, they have trained themselves to develop an indomitable spirit…the type of spirit that is incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished by lesser competition.

Psychologically, the perfect competitors role is to challenge you, to test your limits, to determine how badly you want it, to push you further than you ever have gone before…and ultimately to get you to raise your game to the highest level or perish.

In addition, the perfect competitors role is also to keep you on your toes and far outside your comfort zone, to see how much suffering you can handle, to determine how much inconvenience you can tolerate, and how much heart, will and character you really have.

From the playing field to the boardroom….the same rule applies. If you’re ever going to find your greatness…you must come to the understanding that to be the best, you must compete against and beat the best.

It’s by rising to meet the mental demands and physical rigors that ONLY the perfect competitor can offer… that you provide yourself with undeniable proof that you have what it takes to be one of the great ones.

In a very real sense, seeking out tough and demanding competitive challenges is the greatest thing you can do for yourself…as it’s the one sure way to unleash your greatness.

With 2017 about to begin…there’s no point in pretending that deploying the perfect competitor strategy is anything less than the SAVVIEST MOVE YOU CAN MAKE.

And while there are plenty of excuses, there’s no good reason for you to procrastinate, to say the timing is not right…or that it’s not worth your time.

The 100 Day Challenge is a HARDCORE GOAL SETTING PROGRAM built with the perfect competitor strategy in mind—it’s a proven model that drives you to get more accomplished in the first 100 days of the year, than most people do over the course of ten years.

Like any world-class competition…the 100 Day Challenge contains the elements necessary for the unleashing of your greatness…rules, performance standards, best practices, accountability, a scoreboard, fans, a finish line, intense competition and most of all fun.

Enrollment is opening very soon…so go here to get all the details and onto the early bird notification list.

In the end…any negative assumption you may have about the perfect competitor strategy stands at odds with the most fundamental premise of success: to be the best…you must compete against and beat the best.

]]>Gary Ryan Blairhttp://www.everythingcounts.com/?p=69432016-11-28T17:15:11Z2016-11-28T02:22:42ZAn occupational hazard is a risk accepted as a consequence of a particular occupation.

All occupations have hazards.

The four main types of occupational hazards are as follows:

1. Chemical Hazards. The common chemical substances, such as carbon monoxide, carbon diox­ide, hydrocarbons, sulfuric acid and chemical substances cause injury when they are absorbed through skin and inhaling or ingesting.

As a result, people may suffer from respiratory diseases, skin diseases, allergy, heart disease, cancer and neurological disorders.

4. Psychological Hazards. These types of hazards include stress caused by various stressors such as task and role demands, organizational leadership, unfocused goals, deadline and quotas, lack of group cohesion, interpersonal conflicts, value conflicts, bias and bigotry, sexual harassment, rapid technological changes…as well as life and career changes.

These types of hazards lead to emotional disturbances which impact self-esteem, self-worth, enthusiasm and peace of mind…and which in turn lead to energy depletion, physical exhaustion and impaired health.

For the purposes of this message, we’re going to focus on environmental and psychological hazards.

People like to think they have a “character,” and that this character of theirs will endure, no matter the situation.

Well…it’s not really so.

People are highly vulnerable to the incentives and behaviors of their environment, and often the best a person can do, if he wants to behave in a certain manner, is to choose carefully the environment that will go to work on his or her character.

An occupational hazard of the Internet blogger or YouTuber, for instance, is that he becomes the sort of person who says whatever he thinks will get him the most attention, likes and shares rather than what he thinks is true, so often that he forgets the difference.

An occupational hazard for anyone in the media business, is that in their rush to be the first to “break the news” and obtain bragging rights, they place speed ahead of truth and facts and forsake their journalist responsibilities.

An occupational hazard for someone who works for an undisciplined, unenthusiastic, unfocused or morally deficient manager or company, is that they lower their standards, conform to mediocrity and simply waste some of the best years of their lives.

An occupational hazard for a politician, is that by taking money from lobbyists…they immediately become yes men and little more than pawns for the private interests of their paying clients.

They spend more time focused on getting reelected and less time on serving the needs of the very people who voted for them.

The occupational hazards of being a CEO or even a Board Member for a public corporation is that the temptation, when deciding how to behave…wind up placing too little weight on long-term decisions, and far too much weight on short-term quarterly goals and appeasing shareholders greedy demands for quick profit.

An occupational hazard for an ambitious young person who goes to work at an Investment Banking firm is that they become easily corrupted by the system.

And, rather than build a life of substance and contribution, they soon go to work gaming ratings companies, and designing securities to fail so they might make a killing off the investors they dupe into buying them, and rigging various markets at the expense of the wider society, and encouraging all sorts of people to do stuff with their capital and their companies that they never should do.

The intense pressure to conform, to not make waves, to simply go along with the accepted norm has got to be one of the most the most depressing experiences of life…a true occupational hazard, a trap that too many have fallen victim to.

Remember, what you put up with, you end up with.

That’s why we must understand that the greatest influence in our life is our environment.

I want you to…imagine yourself in an environment where you are challenged, supported and feel more alive than you have in years.

I want you to…imagine yourself in an environment where your talents are nurtured, where risk-taking was encouraged, and where your passion and creativity is unleashed.

I want you to…imaging yourself in an environment where integrity was applauded, where transparency was truly transparent, and where trust and respect were the only acceptable forms of behavior.

I want you to…imagine yourself in an environment that reinforces the MINDSET you need, that helps you drive the RESULTS you want and encourages you to take the necessary steps to live the LIFE you deserve.

Wouldn’t you feel like you could do anything…that the world was your proverbial oyster…that no force on earth could possibly stop, spook or slow you down?

As mentioned previously…people are highly vulnerable to the incentives and behaviors of their environment, and often the best a person can do, if he wants to behave in a certain manner, is to choose carefully the environment that will go to work on his or her character.

A large part of being successful in life depends upon each one of us utilizing and managing our environment to assist us in living a life of excellence and personal mastery.

So watch yourself, be very aware of falling victim to occupational hazards…because if you don’t, no one’s got your back.

When we think of leftovers, we have a tendency to think of food that remains unused or unconsumed, and which eventually finds its way to the dog bowl.

But what about the other kind of leftovers…the massive surplus of unused or unconsumed time, talent and potential?

The greatest waste of untapped resources in this world is the excess surplus of time, talent and potential that doesn’t translate into meaningful, goal-directed behavior.

Chew on that thought for a moment and indulge me with a little exercise…

Imagine a future world where death, disability, disease, war and famine have been wiped out.

Imagine a world where fear and uncertainty no longer exist, and courage is no longer needed.

Imagine a future world where people don’t have to work…one where the Government simply sends you a check and tells you to stay home and chill.

Imagine a world where every household chore is fully automated…one where drones deliver your groceries and robots are at your beck and call.

Imagine a world where an autonomous, self-driving car picks you and simply transports you to your Mother’s house for dinner.

Imagine a future world where anything you can imagine is possible…and you can obtain it without having to lift a finger or even break a sweat.

But hold on, there must be a catch!

What would we do with our infinite, effortless, struggle-free lives?

What would we do with our massive leftover surplus of time, talent and potential?

When someone handed you a calculator for the first time, it meant that long division was never going to be required of you ever again.

This created a huge savings in time, as well as a decrease in the cognitive load of decision making.

What do you do now?

You can use that leftover surplus to entertain yourself by playing video games…by binge watching Netflix…by putting on a headset and living in a virtual fantasy land…by taking selfies…by hanging out and complaining that life is boring and there’s nothing to do.

Or you can use that leftover surplus to educate and challenge yourself to learn something new…something that would give your life meaning and direction…something that adds greater value…something that solves a problem.

It’s your call…you’ll either use that leftover surplus wisely, or you’ll abuse it.

Remember…behavior never lies.

Entire professions and industries are being disrupted by the free work and shortcuts that are produced by the connection economy, by access to information, by robots, by artificial intelligence…and, by organizations and boards who want to eliminate the need for people, pensions, and insurance premiums.

Significant parts of your job are almost certainly among them. If not yet…they soon will be.

This means the questions I posed earlier…especially how you are going to use your leftover surplus of time, talent, energy, courage and potential demand serious consideration.

USING LEFTOVER SURPLUS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Humans by nature are quite predictable as without a challenge, without self or externally enforced resistance, without the deliberate decision to use their leftover surplus to grow, improve and educate themselves…they will gravitate towards entertainment and become soft in mind, body and spirit.

That’s why we need to use our leftover surplus to challenge ourselves, to keep our teeth sharp and to show how hungry we are.

And not just physically challenged, we need intellectual, leadership, spiritual, relational, sales, and any type of performance challenge that stretches us to grow, forces us to overcome adversity, tests our character and commitment, and which inspires us to resist the gravitational pull of the comfort zone.

When will your finest hour come, and how will it arrive?

Do you really think it will materialize without a challenge, without being pushed to your limits, without perseverance being tested, without putting your leftover surplus to extremely good use?

In short, for an individual, team, company, community or country to become great, it requires that they use their leftover surplus to look for and rise to the great challenges that are thrust upon them…OR the ones they thrust upon themselves.

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY and that is why you’re going to love the 100 Day Challenge which is opening for enrollment very soon.

From the moment you begin, you’ll be challenged to raise the bar…to dramatically step up your game…to use that leftover surplus to achieve more in the first 100 days of 2017 than most people do over the course of ten years.

]]>Gary Ryan Blairhttp://www.everythingcounts.com/?p=69172016-11-22T20:10:19Z2016-11-21T21:12:23ZSUCCESS, no matter how you choose to define it, comes down to two key responsibilities: knowing and doing.

While I certainly understand the roles and responsibilities you engage in throughout the day are many and complex — I assure you that at the heart of ANY task comes, first, knowledge, then action. Knowing. Doing.

As a coach and consultant…and as somebody who knows a thing or two about driving results, I have come to the understanding that the biggest constraint from a performance standpoint, as well as the best opportunity for a performance explosion…lies in understanding and closing the gap between knowing and doing.

On a global scale, there is a chronic disconnect between KNOWING AND DOING (intentions and results), as the goals that companies and individuals set for themselves often bare little resemblance to the results that they actually achieve.

Why do I know this?

Three words.

Behavior never lies.

Who you REALLY are is not to be found in what you believe, say or even know intellectually…but only by what you actually DO. This is a rule without an exception.

Intelligence IS a way of acting (it has nothing to do with the accumulation of knowledge)…and to KNOW what needs to be done in a given situation, YET NOT TO DO IT…is a Shakespearean tragedy of epic proportions.

And, for far too many…it IS the story of their lives.

Not convinced?

Allow me to expose the problem as well as the solution…by exposing the gap between knowing and doing.

We all know that eating a healthy diet is an intelligent decision, yet too many of us choose to eat poorly.

We all know that regular exercise is smartest thing we can do for our bodies, however a good number of us don’t exercise.

We all know that we should save more than we spend, but the debt held by far too many people, companies and even governments provides proof of a lack of understanding.

We all know that continued learning is the smartest thing we can do for our careers, however most do not even crack open a book after they leave college.

We all know that commitments are meant to be honored, yet when faced with difficulty…integrity, character and resolve quickly heads for the door.

We all know that going the extra mile for our clients is the most intelligent move we can make, however most view it as an inconvenience and choose not to do it.

Knowing is not the same as doing. Not by a long shot.

At the risk of being a broken record…

Who you REALLY are is not to be found in what you believe, say or even know intellectually…but only by what you actually DO. This is a rule without an exception.

That’s why the greatest performance challenge and growth opportunity that you and I will ever confront in our lifetime….lies in our ability to close the gap between knowing and doing.

The faster we do it, and the more deliberate our intent…the sooner we live in harmony rather than hypocrisy.

It’s for this reason why I created the 100 Day Challenge…and if you follow my lead for the first 100 days of 2017, I’ll not only show you how to START THE YEAR FAST, but I’ll also help solve this pesky knowing-doing problem.

Everything Counts!

Gary Ryan Blair

P.S. The greatest waste of untapped resources in this world, are people’s good intentions and resolutions that don’t translate into purposeful, goal directed behavior.

“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” —Seneca, Roman Philosopher

Jules Leotard, the son of a gymnasium owner, was a novice acrobat when he hit upon a brilliant idea: how about, instead of doing his routine on fixed bars, he did it on bars that swung?

After much practice and preparation the big day arrived…and, on November 12, 1859 Jules Leotard, at the tender age of twenty-one, made his public debut at the Cirque-Napoleon in Paris, and in a single performance created a new art form that was seen as both exciting and daring.

Jules Leotard quickly became an international sensation and was the inspiration for the song…The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.

While you may not find yourself walking a high wire, or flying through the air without a net…I assure you with as much conviction as I can muster…that YOU do have the opportunity to DARE MIGHTY THINGS, and with the New Year just days away, it is the purpose of this message to get you to dream bigger…to dare greatly…and to get far outside your comfort zone.

“Nothing will come of nothing. Dare for mighty things.

– William Shakespeare

There is no purer form of success, no more exact and demanding test of what you are capable of, then to DARE MIGHTY THINGS…something so far outside your comfort zone, and find joy in the capacity to achieve it.

While we all have different goals and aspirations, we all love and benefit from doing something BIG, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL—something that inspires us to reach the peak of our potential, jailbreaks us from our comfort zone, and transforms us into a better, far more capable version of ourselves.

The ultimate reason for DARING MIGHTY THINGS is to entice you to become the person it takes to actually deliver on your mighty dare.

As you are about to find out…who you become, as well as the traits and skill sets you develop in DARING MIGHTY THINGS, are much more important than the nature of the dare itself.

THE MIGHTY BENEFITS

1. You Develop Mental Toughness

It’s actually pretty simple. You either rise to meet the mental demands and physical rigors of DARING MIGHTY THINGS, or you succumb to them.

The very nature of DARING MIGHTY THINGS sets an appropriate stage for practicing mental toughness, which by definition means a psychological edge that enables one to remain focused and confident during high-pressure situations to perform at one’s full potential.

You will not allow yourself to be conquered, vanquished or overcome. You will pursue your mighty dare with the belief and internal constitution that impossible is nothing and that you will enjoy victory against all odds.

In the words of Muhammad Ali…”Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.”

2. You Confront and Conquer Fear

The very act of DARING MIGHTY THINGS is unique in that it immediately engages the fight-or-flight mechanism, and you never know how you are going to react until you are faced with the fear.

If I fear it, I must do it…must become your battle cry as fear is never a reason for quitting…fear is only a sad and pathetic excuse for those unwilling to face their doubts, insecurities, and mental boogie man.

Therefore, your first duty in DARING MIGHTY THINGS is to conquer fear and the mental resistance it brings along with it. Get rid of it quickly, or get steamrolled by it.

3. You Become More Courageous

Courage is the greatest resource you have when DARING MIGHTY THINGS. What good is a worthy ideal or a big, ambitious goal if there is no willingness to overcome fear, mental and physical resistance, adversity, or self-doubt?

The conceptual opposite of courage is cowardice. We are therefore confronted with the reality that we either habitually practice courage, or we habitually practice cowardice.

I promise you that DARING MIGHTY THINGS can and will alter the whole conception of what is possible in your life.

4. You Get to Test Your Limits

It is imperative that you accept this reality: when you DARE MIGHTY THINGS, you will never be the same again. You either cope or crumble. You become better or bitter. You emerge stronger or weaker.

It has to be this way, as a big mighty goal exists to tests your limits, to push you beyond the breaking point, and to separate you from the herd.

You’ll never know the full measure of your potential until you are tested. You can never be sure whether you’ll step up or falter in any given situation.

Passing the tests presented by DARING MIGHTY THINGS proves that you are tougher, more resilient, and far more capable than you ever imagined.

5. You Intensify Your Focus

A worthy dare is like a great romance. It calls for your passion and your devotion, and it demands to be the center of your attention.

DARING MIGHTY THINGS is a form of intense seduction. It means concentrating your energy and resources on what’s most important: keeping the fire burning!

You do that by making everything count. Everything you think, say, and do must be focused on your mighty goal and on leveraging all available resources.

Focus is best seen as a preemptive strike against mediocrity. The moment you DARE MIGHTY THINGS, your mighty goal becomes a magnet that pulls you and your resources toward it.

The more focused your energies, the more power you generate, and the sooner you will live happily ever after.

6. You Build Supreme Self-Confidence

Think of a mighty dare—any kind of big, challenging goal. Ask yourself…what role does self-confidence play in DARING MIGHTY THINGS?

The fact is that no mountains can be climbed, no hearts won, no opportunities seized, no books written, no elections won, and no victories enjoyed without self-confidence.

Now think of something you fear—anything that makes you flinch. Ask yourself, what role does self-confidence play in overcoming fear?

Fear is the greatest enemy you will ever face. It impedes your ability to succeed physically, emotional, spiritually, and financially. Fear negatively impacts everything you want to be, do, and have.

The inspired ability to DARE MIGHTY THINGS and climb great heights is directly attributable to your self-confidence. As your challenges build, so does your self-confidence.

7. You Turn Pro

Few things in life are capable of radically altering your perspective, but developing the capacity to DARE MIGHTY THINGS not only impacts the size of your results, it transforms your mind and expands your worldview.

It changes everything. The way you walk, talk, and communicate all exude a level of self-confidence and self-assuredness that’s impossible not to notice.

P.S. DARING MIGHTY THINGS is just one on the many strategies you’ll learn in the 100 Day Challenge. To learn how to start 2017 fast, focused and fired up…download and devour this manifesto.

]]>Gary Ryan Blairhttp://www.everythingcounts.com/?p=68852016-11-14T17:27:13Z2016-11-14T02:54:10ZI have a confession to make.

I’m one of those people who can latch on to subtle differences in word meanings.

You will often find me in the midst of a conversation that includes someone saying, “Isn’t this just a matter of semantics?” And, they’re usually correct.

Most semantic disagreements are minor and not worth the effort – however, I want to use this message to focus on one such distinction that is guaranteed to create some valuable dialog around your house, organization, or any place you hang your hat.

One of the hottest books of the past decade was written by Rhonda Byrne from Australia.

She titled her book, “The Secret” – a decision that I believe had a lot to do with its success.

It’s a self-help book with some rather unusual suggestions.

Want to lose weight? Don’t heed your doctor’s advice by changing your eating and exercise habits, rather follow Byrne’s suggestion that you “avoid looking at people who are overweight.” [I’m not kidding.]

In a world saturated with advice and how-to books, why did “The Secret” drawn so much attention?

“It was an incredibly savvy move to call it ‘The Secret.’

Why? We all want to be in on a secret.

But to present it as THE secret, that was brilliant.” [Newsweek – March 5, 2007]

Did you catch the subtle and critical difference?

Byrne’s book doesn’t promise to be ONE of a number of secrets?

It doesn’t promise to share a dozen secrets – she claims to have the THE secret.

THE BIG REVEAL

Lest you think I have finally stepped off the curb into oncoming traffic…allow me to explain what on earth this has to do with YOU.

I’d like you to ask yourself a few questions:

1. Do I want to be A consultant who helps people brainstorm, or THE consultant who helps companies do things differently?

2. Do you want to have A shoe store? Or, would you rather be THE shoe store that caters to busy working moms?

3. Which airline would you prefer to fly? One of many who travel to New York, or THE airline with the most on-time departures?

4. Do you want to be A personal trainer, or THE personal trainer that builds champion marathoners and triathletes?

5. Do you want to be A chiropractor who adjusts people’s spine, or THE chiropractor who helps people to live a long healthy life?

6. Would you prefer to be A salesperson, or THE rainmaker of your industry who is the most connected and highly paid expert?

Do I want to create A goal setting program, or THE most powerful and comprehensive program for driving 10 years worth of results in just 100 days?

And when I wrote Everything Counts, the question was: Do I want to write A leadership book, or THE definitive book on leadership excellence that delivers a transformational message appropriate for anyone, anywhere?

There is tremendous value, in consideration of the difference between THE and A.

To borrow from Dr. Seuss…”Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?”

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Sometimes you are defined by the products you offer – We are THE computer that runs the Mac operating system.

Sometimes your definition comes from the market you serve – We are THE exercise club that caters to busy moms by providing free child care while they work out.

Bottom line – if you can’t come up with a credible THE for your position or organization, you should probably close up shop before someone else does it for you.

It isn’t necessary to have a singular focus – the workout club with a child care area for busy moms, can attract other clients but they are THE place a busy mom can go.

Having a multi-focused perspective is a necessary paradox in today’s environment, but what you can’t afford to go without is something that sets you apart from all the others who do what you do.

Standing apart from the crowd…positioning yourself as THE go to guy or gal… is one of the many important lessons you’ll learn from…

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make a difference that you have lived and lived well.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are living links in a chain of wisdom, handed down through history. One axiom developed in that chain is to…BE USEFUL.

Our sense of worth and usefulness is tied to our self-esteem…and to esteem something means to elevate it.

So how do we elevate our own worth and usefulness? How do we esteem ourselves?

Think of the items you value either for their aesthetic or functional quality.

A nonfunctioning grandfather clock is still valued because it is a beautiful piece of furniture. A nonfunctioning can opener is discarded because it is worthless.

Our value in life depends on our FUNCTION. But just what is that function?

The answer is quite simple.

When one begins to purposefully elevate others by performing acts of kindness, the spirit changes and soon doing good deeds becomes a focal point for our life; doing good begins to be the same as feeling good.

The periods of emptiness when we search for the “meaning of it all” begin to fill with acts of kindness and usefulness.

Most of us ask ourselves questions of purpose that go beyond the routines of our daily lives. The obvious answer is to be kind to one another, to help someone in need, to perform good deeds…in short, TO BE USEFUL.

Neither wealth, fame, prestige, nor anything external can give us more than a fleeting sense of satisfaction. The only true lasting happiness is within ourselves. Unfortunately, this is too often the last place any of us look.

The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and hands and then work outward from there. If we improve ourselves by BEING USEFUL to others, we live our lives in the best way possible.

Good deeds really do have the power to change us. We should never consider any act that changes us as futile. No good, useful deed we have done can be taken from us. Good deeds have magical attributes which can turn sadness to singing and despair to joy.

Just one small selfless act benefits and elevates both the giver and the receiver. In this high-tech, fast changing world what is needed and what is lasting is HIGH-TOUCH PEOPLE and relationships.

CALL TO ACTION

I want you to wrap your mind around the idea that your duty and primary responsibility in life is to be useful….to elevate all, big or small.

Aspire to be useful. Think of ways that you can elevate your performance and usefulness as a mother, father, husband, wife, employee, salesperson or entrepreneur.

Identify every role you play in life and actively work to be more useful…to elevate everyone you come in contact with.

Be useful and elevate with words of encouragement. Be useful and elevate by asking bigger, bolder, and better questions. Be useful and elevate by setting an example that inspires. Be useful and elevate every life experience for yourself and others.

When you wake up in the morning, when you walk into a room, when you attend a meeting…set an intention to be useful and elevating.

IF YOU”RE FEELING a little emotionally fragile, you may want to read this one later.

Or never.

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

I have a confession to make…I’m sick and tired of people’s whining, complaining, rationalizing and justifying why their life is a succession of unfinished endeavors.

People who have lost and regained weight like a yoyo on steroids…people who start projects but never bring them to a finish…people with the highest intentions and who deliver the lowest of results…YET they’re still looking for a quick fix, an easy solution, a silver bullet.

As the creator of the 100 Day Challenge and someone who is constantly dealing with people who want to create positive change in their life (relationships, finances, career, health, appearance, attitude, lifestyle, etc.), I hear way too many excuses.

As a rule, I have more people tell me why they can’t change than why they can.

And while I acknowledge that we all have challenges, hurdles and obstacles to navigate and negotiate along our path…in my humble opinion, most reasons (for not doing something) are in fact, not reasons at all.

They are nothing more than sad, pathetic and cheap excuses.

REASONS VS. EXCUSES

So, what is the difference between a Reason and an Excuse?

According to the dictionary…not a damn thing. And that’s where the problem starts.

Both reason and excuse are defined as an explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.

What do you say we put an end to that nonsense?

The fact is…there’s a HUGE difference between a reason and an excuse.

This one health related example should bottom line the difference for everyone.

A reason for not going for a run is, “I have a broken leg.”

An excuse is, “I don’t have the time.”

People make excuses in every imaginable way possible…finances, career, hobbies, relationships, etc…

Precisely because there is no textbook definition that presents a clear distinction between the two…we are left with one option: EXAMINE THE RESULTS.

The difference between reasons and excuses lies in the results of each; the actions that follow, the repercussions and consequences as well as how an individual is affected by the events that cause each.

It’s what we do with each that determines the difference.

If you are the excuse making type…you have a strong tendency to view an excuse as the result of an uncontrollable event that you deem as an exoneration of your tasks, responsibilities or plans.

You see it as a legitimate justification for immunity of your sins…for revoking all that is expected of you.

A reason on the other hand is a stimulus that causes something to change or happen, giving you cause to reroute your actions and manage to stay in control of the results you wanted without turning it into an excuse.

Excuses and reasons on the surface share a similar strand of DNA, but what you do with each is what differentiates them.

Excuses are negative and irresponsible…while reasons are natural occurrences, and if acted upon they lead to responsible, results-driven behavior.

Here’s a very good rule of thumb…every reason must have a resulting action.

The main function of a reason is not to justify, but to explain. Reason implies that fault is sincerely recognized and accepted….and that you take accountability for your actions.

An excuse exists to justify, blame or defend a fault…with the intent to absolve oneself of accountability. An excuse will NEVER be followed by positive, goal-directed or solution-oriented behavior.

Excuses bring productivity to a screeching halt. They waste time and murder potential. They are tools of cowards and weaklings…weapons of destruction that undermine ones reputation, credibility and future prospects. Do not associate with them. Ever.

One final thought and perhaps a warning…you can have results or excuses, not both.